Through alliances with different organizations and in coordination with the authorities, the development of the management plan was initiated.

In the first phase, work has been done to create the guiding document that will make it possible to implement the management plan by establishing roles and methods.

The organizations involved in the management plan are:

• Instituto Municipal de Ecología de Hermosillo
• Desert Walkers A.C.
• Profauna A.C.
• Ecological Collaboration.
• Ecogrande A.C.
• Naturally Fun

This strategy consisted of applying for a call for proposals called: "Fund to Support Sonora Projects for the Environment", which made it possible to implement a soil and vegetation cover restoration program for the Parque Central or Parque Johnson Natural Protected Area.

Through the on-site identification of areas of greatest impact, this fund was managed for the development and placement of hydrological infrastructure such as gabions and cisterns.

We had the support of a group of engineers: HEMEK Engineering, as well as the participation of the Sonora Silvestre Collective for training and advice on the installation of the gabions and the support of groups of citizen volunteers for both the preparation and subsequent maintenance activities of the gabions.

For the achievement of this strategy, there was ample support and donations in time and material from various organizations:

CEDES - Economic Resources

Hemek Ingeniería S.A. de C.V. - Engineering and execution of the project.

TE Conectividad - Donation of a 5,000-liter cistern.

Ayuntamiento de Hermosillo - Donation of 42m3 of stone for gabion filling.

Alejandro Robles Topography - Topography works.

The strategy based on alliances allows connecting visions that lead to the development of actions oriented to a common objective, in this case, the restoration and conservation of the Central Park Natural Area and its zones of influence.

The activities that have made it possible to build this community network with actors from institutions and other CSOs have included on-site events related to their own projects, as well as training with expert advisors on restoration issues and practices outside the impact zone, but which make it possible to concretize and strengthen the technical learning necessary to continue with the project.

One of the most significant actions has been to collaborate with different social actors in the preparation of the Management Plan for the Natural Protected Area, which is a necessary and useful resource for conservation objectives and a multi-stakeholder action, as well as collaborations with transboundary associations such as the Arizona Desert Museum and Borderlands Restoration Network in an effort to improve the consequences of the impacts of exotic plants and implement restoration actions.

The objective of this strategy was to strengthen participatory management activities through environmental education. Tours of the natural area were conducted in which the general public was invited, as well as children's walks, theater presentations, family walks, night walks, and citizen science workshops.

These educational activities were led by actors from different areas: biologists, theater actors, members of the association, and naturalist tutors. All this to strengthen the links between specialists in the area of conservation but also to diversify the way in which specialized knowledge is presented to the general public.

The information and themes were aimed at informing about habitat conditions in the area, informing about the ANP, informing about invasive species as well as native species and strategies of minimum impact in natural areas.

From all the activities and studies carried out, documents are prepared to be shared with the beneficiary groups and other interested parties, with the objective of generating awareness and knowledge about the recovery and protection of the protected areas, as well as the native plants that can be planted in these areas, in order to avoid their reduction or extinction or their inadequate mixture with plants from other places.

It is intended to plan activities for the reforestation of the areas catalogued as protected, with oak trees and other plants germinated in the community nursery; with the purpose of recovering and conserving the biodiversity of the native species of these areas, and to receive the benefits that this represents.

The community nursery is the main element as a means of producing unlimited natural resources, if its management is optimal, to be used in the reforestation of areas with forest loss, deterioration or deforestation. It is essential to avoid buying or waiting for donations of trees or plants, which represent costs in money and time. It can also function as a means to generate income with the commercialization of the resources produced in the nursery, with the purpose of being self-sustainable.

Participative dispute management

Out of several other potential solutions, the one that really worked was embedded deep in the community norms and culture. In order to solve longstanding communal conflicts that hindered the restoration of land and protection of the Chilgoza forest ecosystem, the programme seek consultation and advice from representatives and heads of the involved communities. Starting with a smaller group of forest owner families in conflict over an abandoned piece of communal agricultural land, the programme was able to set an successful example for a dispute settlement approach in the region that enabled further landscape restoration activities.

Open-grazing and over-cutting in dryland areas reduces vegetative cover, making them prone to erosion and causing downstream flooding.

DryDev introduced FMNR as a low-cost community-led approach that build consensus on how to manage and govern open-grazing areas through local by-laws (including fines for non-compliance). FMNR uses selective pruning to assist recovering trees and stumps. In denuded areas where root stocks are not present, enrichment planting was undertaken to maximize vegetative cover in the protected areas.

Physical structures were also used, such as terraces, trenches, half-moons, check-dams and gully reclamation structures. 

Biological and physical structures in open grazing areas (now protected) led to rapid vegetative recovery, recovery of springs and the rise of groundwater. Smallholders improved their water access for household needs, for small crops and fruit trees, and for animals.

Value chain development and integrated market systems development were essential tools to link environmental restoration with economic resilience. Farmers were mobilized and organized into groups, associations and cooperatives; groups organized around selected value chains, with groups enabled to sign contracts and share resources and capacities. Improved bargaining was made possible due to the confidence in producing a harvest, thanks to sufficient water.